Backing up files

Regularly backing up your files protects you from losing data and lets you keep fewer files on your hard drive. Back up old files to a large capacity disk drive or tape drive and delete the files from your hard drive. You can use the software that came with your tape backup drive or your large capacity disk drive to back up the files.

You can also back up files by running the Backup utility that came with your operating system. In Windows NT, Backup copies files to a tape drive.

To run Backup in Windows NT:

1Click Start, then select Programs, Administrative Tools, then Backup.

2Follow the on-screen instructions.

Deleting unneeded files

By deleting unneeded files from the hard drive, you free up space on the hard drive and help improve hard-drive performance. The following sections give you some simple ways to delete unneeded files.

Deleting Windows temporary files

During normal operation, Windows constantly creates new temporary (.tmp) files. You can safely delete all but the most recent .tmp files.

To delete .tmp files:

1Open Windows Explorer, then select Tools, Find, then Files and Folders.

2In the Named text box, type *.tmp

3In the Look in drop down list, select your drive letter.

4Click Find Now. The list of .tmp files appears.

5Click Modified above the list. To see the Modified button, you may need to maximize the Find window. The list is sorted by date.

6Highlight all the files in the list except those with the current date.

7Press SHIFT + DELETE. A dialog box opens asking if you want to delete the files.

8Click Yes. The files are deleted.

78Managing the Server